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Green Metro

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As a regional government committed to promoting sustainable communities, Metro is working to reduce its own ecological footprint. Learn about efforts to reduce the environmental impact of Metro's public venues, parks, buildings and solid waste facilities.

Measuring progress: 2012 sustainability report

Metro facilities made notable improvements in energy efficiency, recycling, and toxics reduction since Metro adopted its Sustainability Plan in 2010. The table below provides a snapshot of Metro's performance in each goal area as compared with a 2008 baseline year. For detailed reporting and an explanation of indicators and their measurement, read the full report. Download the report

	GOAL	INDICATORS	FY 2011-12 performance
	Reduce carbon	Kilowatts of electricity consumed (kWh)	Electricity use is down 8 percent from 2008 levels.
	Choose nontoxic	Percentage of products used that are rated high hazard*	Metro eliminated 13,000 pounds of hazardous products from facility supplies in 2012.
	Prevent waste	Percent recycled and composted; total waste generated	Metro facilities averaged a recycling rate of 60 percent, a 9 percent increase since 2008. Waste generation is up 17 percent from 2008 levels.
	Conserve water	Hundred cubic feet (CCF) of water consumption	Water consumption is down 8 percent from 2008.
	Enhance habitat	Effective impervious area	Effective impervious surface area at Metro properties has decreased 2 percent from 2008; 80 percent of impervious surfaces drain to a waterway.

*Hazard ratings are based on the Chemical Risk Information System at Oregon Health and Science University.

Sustainability plan

The Metro Council set an ambitious target for internal operations to be sustainable within one generation. To this end, the council adopted goals in five key categories to reduce the agency's environmental impact:

• greenhouse gas emissions – reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 2008 levels
• toxics – eliminate the use of emissions of persistent bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs) and other priority toxic and hazardous substances
• waste – recover all waste for recycling or composting, and reduce overall generation of waste
• water – reduce water use to 50 percent below 2008 levels
• habitat – ensure that Metro's parks, trails and developed properties positively contribute to healthy, functioning ecosystems and watershed health and that Metro's natural areas are healthy, functioning ecosystems.

Metro's comprehensive sustainability plan identifies strategies and nearly 100 actions to achieve the above goals. The goals are slated for completion by 2025 or, in the case of greenhouse gas emissions, 2050. Metro Council adopted this plan by resolution on Oct. 7, 2010. Read the plan

Greenhouse gas emissions inventory

Metro completed a comprehensive inventory of 2008 greenhouse gas emissions from internal business operations. This inventory sets the baseline year for future reporting of GHG emissions from Metro operations. The inventory includes both direct and indirect emissions sources.View the inventory

Related documents

• 2012 Sustainability Report for operations at Metro facilities 3.4M Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published November 26, 2012
• 2011 Sustainability Report for operations at Metro facilities 1.7M Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published February 10, 2012
• Metro Green Building Policy 2011 1.1M Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published November 7, 2011
• Metro Sustainability Plan 3.9M Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published October 8, 2010
• GHG Emissions Baseline Inventory, 2008 2.7M Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published August 1, 2010